The present invention is directed to an apparatus and device for allowing a person with a tracheostomy to speak while being ventilated.
Ventilators are frequently employed in hospitals to help the breathing of patients who have had tracheostomies. The ventilator supplies air or oxygen to the tracheostomy tube under positive pressure at periodic intervals and is arranged to allow exhalation of breath at intervening intervals.
While the ventilator serves an extremely useful function, patients who are on ventilators are ordinarily not able to speak. This is because substantially all of the breath which is exhaled by the patient passes out the tracheostomy tube and into the ventilator, and no breath passes up the trachea and past the larynx, which is a necessary condition for speech. This problem is compounded by the fact that patients on ventilators frequently have other enfeebling conditions which make it difficult or impossible for them to communicate by physical means other than speaking.
One approach of the prior art to this problem has been to provide an apparatus having two conduits, one for supplying air for breathing and the other for supplying air to the vicinity of the larynx for speaking. However, use of this apparatus does not allow the patient to use his own breath in the speaking process.
Additionally, the prior art is replete with devices for allowing a person with a tracheostomy but not on a ventilator to speak. These typically involve the use of a one-way valve at the throat end of the tracheostomy tube, and are not suitable for use in conjunction with ventilators.